


Breaking Free

by loserwithapencil



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: High School Musical AU, M/M, Scorbus, Wow, albus starring as overworked by father but trying his best boy, scorpius starring as freaky book boy who can sing wow, weve all seen hsm, why did I write this, you know the plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 11:53:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 10,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9656390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loserwithapencil/pseuds/loserwithapencil
Summary: Albus was the basketball guy. Coach's son. Live up to expectations guy. Scorpius was the new kid. The freaky book boy from his old school. The two accidentally end up singing together one night at a ski lodge. This is where everything went wrong as they ended up in the same school. They accidentally audition for a musical. Albus has to come to terms with his new life of basketball and singing. Can he really do both? (It's just a High School Musical AU with Albus and Scorpius, don't pretend you don't know the story already.)





	1. Start Of Something New

“No, I don't, I can't!” Albus protested as he was dragged and shoved onstage. Someone shoved a microphone into his hand and suddenly there he was. He didn't even want to go to this stupid thing anyways. His mom just kept insisting that he stop shutting himself out and shower for once. She laughed and looked at her husband, still holding a basketball, with a face that said, ‘you better agree with me’. Albus looked to his dad to try and get him out of it. Needless to say, wife had trumped son. And that's how he ended up at the kid’s party in the back room of a ski lodge with about one hundred other teenagers. The room was cramped and decorated with white and blue balloons. Christmas lights hung from all the walls almost leading your eye to the stage in the middle of the room. He tried so, so hard to stay away from that stage. Then the spotlight had fallen on him and there he was. 

His protests went ignored and the only comfort Albus had found in the situation was the other guy they had forced on stage. A boy taller than Albus with a wave of platinum blonde hair. He wasn’t meeting his eyes and he found that this other boy looked more uncomfortable than him. Albus breathed. Nobody was even paying attention to them anyways. He could do this. He opened his mouth and somehow ended up singing the first verse. In his mind, he told himself it wasn't that bad and turned to leave the stage.

Then the blonde sang. 

With a voice like that, why had he been nervous? He should not have been that nervous. By the chorus they were both singing together and it was working well. The blonde had turned meekly and looked at him and Albus saw his silver eyes. Suddenly, he really wasn't as nervous. Albus kept his gaze locked on the other boy as they sang, mesmerized by his voice. The other boy’s body was closed off and facing forward, too focused on singing well. They were both standing still, but people were starting to listen to them sing. They both met eyes again. 

Then the blonde smiled. 

Albus got into it then. He started really going for it, taking his jacket off, listening to everyone shouting now. He took the microphone off the stand and started moving around and pointing at the boy. The blonde started smiling wider and getting really into it as well. Albus moved toward him, completely leaning the stand of the microphone over and belting his part of the song. He watched the blonde boy next to him as he confidently took his microphone off the stand and sang with him. Albus nearly laughed when the boy had backed up off the stage. The crowd lifted him straight back up and suddenly Albus realized he was having fun. Actual fun singing in front of a crowd. People were clapping along to the song loudly and Albus didn't care that they were listening. This boy was making being brave seem easy.

The song ended and Albus barely even realized how close he was standing to this boy. Barely.

“Albus.” He said, sticking out his hand.

“Scorpius.” He shook it. 

Together the two left the lodge room and went out for some air. Albus wasn't going to lie, he was walking a little close to this kid.

“You have an amazing voice. You must be a singer, right?” Albus guessed.

“Hardly. Just church choir, is all. I tried a solo once and almost fainted.”

“I find that hard to believe considering what you just did in there.”

“That was the first time I had done something like that.” Scorpius blushed and Albus smiled at his red face. People were counting down around them, ready to bring on the new year. Fireworks went off above them in every color. Albus wasn't looking. 

“I better go. I’ll see you around.” Scorpius said, seemingly disappointed. Albus started talking without thinking.

“Wait. I’ll call you.” He took out his phone and held it out for Scorpius to take, trying desperately not to notice the blush on Scorpius’s face. “Put your number in?” Just as he was about to move his hand away and apologize for making him uncomfortable, Scorpius took his phone and handed him his own.

“Put your number in mine too?” 

He did. Next thing he knew, the boy was gone.


	2. Get Your Head In The Game

A full week and half passed before Albus was back at East High. It felt like the whole student body was outside in red and white, welcoming the basketball team back for the year. Yann was especially welcoming, nearly jumping on Albus as he strode into the school. He smelled like basketball already and he had only been back at school for all of five seconds. Albus rushed to homeroom, taking a seat quickly. He was so busy talking to Yann that he didn't even notice the new kid two rows behind him. When he turned to face someone else he saw the spirals of platinum blonde and realized nobody else could possibly could have hair that white.

The teacher started talking, specifically Ms. McGonagall. She said something about bringing in the new year, something about homework, then something about the musical. Cedric and Delphi shared a smile at that one. The two had been friends (more like puppet and puppet master) since first grade, nailing the leads in every play since. 

Albus was too distracted by the blonde to think so he took out his phone and sent a quick, “Hey?” to Scorpius’s number. A quick, but loud, tone sounded and Albus watched as the boy frantically pulled his phone out to silence it. 

So it was him. 

Others around the room scrambled to put their phones away, taking the tone as a reminder. 

“Ah, the cell phone menace has returned!” Ms. McGonagall swiftly said as she began to make her way around the room. “Delphi, Cedric. Cell phones in the bucket and I will see you in detention.” Delphi gasped as she dropped her phone in. It was less than refreshing to see the resident drama queen like this again. She made her way to the new blonde in the back and held out the bucket. This was clearly not the first impression he wanted to make. He blushed (damn that blush) and dropped his phone inside. “Welcome to East High Mr. Malfoy.” She continued pacing the aisles before she got to Albus. “Mr. Potter, I see your phone is involved! So, we will see you in detention as well.” 

“That’s not even a possibility, your honor.” Yann, for the love of God, please shut up. “You see, we have practice today and Albus is our capt-”

“Ah, that will be 15 minutes for you too Mr. Fredericks.”

“I bet he can't even count that high.” Albus didn't see her say it, but he knew that it had to have been Rose, scholastic decathlon team captain. 

“Rose Granger-Weasley, 15 minutes!” Called it. “Shall the carnage continue? Come on people, the holidays are over! Over! Now are there any more questions, comments? Ah, Polly!” Polly cleared her throat.

“So, how were your holidays Ms. McGonagall?” The class groaned.

Class had never gone by so slowly. Albus left the class and leant up against the wall outside the door, trying to look casual. Everyone else left the class and soon enough, so did Scorpius, holding a slightly wrinkled school map.

“Hey!” Albus took two quick strides toward the boy. 

“Oh, hey!” Scorpius beamed at him.

“How is this even possible?” Albus gestured to the school.

“My dad just got transferred here from out of state.” Scorpius said excitedly. “I looked for you on New Year’s Day.”

“My family had to leave first thing!” Albus was excitedly talking, yet in a hushed, quiet tone. 

“Why are you whispering?” 

“Oh, well, my friends know about the basketball and the lodge, but I haven’t quite told them about the singing thing.” Albus shrugged, but smiled at Scorpius, making sure he knew it wasn't because of him. 

“Too much for them to handle?” Scorpius brushed it off, pretending he wasn’t a little offended.

“No! It was cool!” Albus reassured him quickly. “It’s just, it’s not, what I do. It was like a different person.” 

Scorpius made a sharp left turn and Albus smiled, following quickly.

“Welcome to East High! So, uh, now that you’ve met Ms. McGonagall, I bet you just can’t wait to sign up for that.” Albus gestured to the poster on the wall. It read, ‘Twinkle Town Auditions’. Scorpius quickly dismissed the idea.

“No, but if you signed up, I’d be sure to come see the show.” Scorpius smiled broadly. God, this kid never stopped smiling. His happiness was infectious. 

“Ha, yeah, that's completely impossible.” He laughed lightly. Albus was not one to laugh lightly, but Scorpius just had something about him.

Then Delphi was beside them, clearly leaning in too close to Albus. 

“I wouldn't think impossible was even in your vocabulary!” She smiled, but not the same way Scorpius was. Her smile was clearly flirtatious and clearly too broad and fake. “It's so nice of you to show our new classmate around.” Scorpius shifted uncomfortably at being put on the spot like that.

Delphi turned and signed her name in pink ink across the entirety of six spaces on the sign up sheet for auditions. She put Cedric’s name right under it on one line. Scorpius took note of the way she had dotted the ‘i’ in Delphi with a star. 

“Oh were you going to sign up?” Scorpius opened his mouth to say no, but she quickly started talking again. “Cedric and I have starred in all the schools musicals and we really welcome newcomers. There are a lot of supporting roles in the show. I'm sure we could find something for you.” Albus looked at the way Scorpius’s eyes widened. 

“No, no, no. I was just looking at all the bulliten boards. A lot is going on at this school.” Scorpius smiled sheepishly at her, clearly taken back by her loud personality. He complimented her signature (mentioning the star above the ‘i’) and quickly strode away after smiling back at Albus. He laughed lightly at the smile again and turned to walk off. 

“So, what did you do over vacation?” Delphi prodded. Albus thought of the singing and almost accidentally said it out loud before internally correcting himself.

“You know, basketball, more basketball.” He forced a small laugh and nodded as she went on to ask about the championship coming up. She complimented his dedication. 

“Promise to come see me in the musical?” She smiled sweetly at him. He nodded, not really planning on keeping that promise. 

When the team had free periods together they all had a mutual agreement to meet in the gym and practice. 

“So you know that school musical thing?” Albus started slowly. “You know you get extra credit just for auditioning?” Yann dismissed the idea with a few shrugs and went on with his stretching. 

“It’s all show tunes and costumes and makeup.” He shuddered. Albus bit his lip. Obviously Yann wouldn't support this idea.

“Yeah I know, I just thought it would be a good laugh.” He forced another laugh. He was off for the rest of practice, missing shots and messing up plays. Scorpius was drawing him into singing all of a sudden. It was ridiculous. Albus usually just sang in the shower and even when he did it was whatever rock music was playing on his radio that morning. Now his brain was only paying that one karaoke song from the lodge on repeat.

“What team?” Yann shouted. Albus frowned. He didn't think practice was even close to over.

“Wildcats!” His team shouted back. Albus didn't join.

“What team?” Yann pumped his fist in the air.

“Wildcats!” The team started to leave the gym.

“What team?” Who even made up this cheer? Why now?

“Wildcats!” 

“Wildcats!” Yann finished off.

“Get your head in the game!” Albus sighed. He really needed to do just that.


	3. Detention (No Cell Phones In The Theater)

Scorpius was sitting in the front row of his new chemistry class when Delphi decided to give him a heart attack.

“So, it seems like you knew Albus Potter.” Scorpius jumped at her sudden conversation starter.

“Not really, well, he was just really showing me around the school.” He shot her a nice smile before turning toward the board again. 

“Well, Albus doesn’t usually interact with new students.” This was true. Albus tried to bask in the idea that someone in the school didn't know him for as long as possible. He stayed away from new students as long as he could, not wanting to seem like he craved their attention.

“Why not?” Scorpius asked, still staring at the board in confusion. That answer didn't look right.

“It’s usually basketball 24/7 with him.” Delphi forced a laugh and frowned when she realized Scorpius wasn't really focused on her.

“That should be sixteen over pi.” He whispered to himself.

“Yes, Mr. Malfoy?” The teacher looked at him questioningly, wondering what he had said.

“Oh, no, I was, just.” He bit his lip, hating to be the center of attention. “Shouldn't the second equation read sixteen over pi?” He cringed at the way he sounded. He couldn't go back to being the resident book nerd again. Delphi rolled her eyes. The teacher smiled as she admitted her mistake and Delphi gawked at Scorpius before retreating back to her desk. This kid was out.

Albus hated to admit it, but he couldn't stop checking the sign up sheet for Scorpius’s name. He was waiting for Scorpius to have a change in heart and rival Delphi and Cedric for roles. He once even contemplated writing his own name on the list just for fun. He quickly dismissed the idea. He didn't even stop to think that Delphi and Cedric may have been watching him. The two made quick work of the situation, deeming it miniscule, but an issue nonetheless. One Google search later and they were sure they could prevent Scorpius from ever trying out for the musical. 

Ms. McGonagall did detention in her own special way. All the kids, and there were a lot, were pushed into the auditorium to help make set pieces for Twinkle Town. Scorpius was stuck painting a moon, arguably better than sitting in the fake tree that Albus was in. Albus couldn't help but notice that the moon was the same color as Scorpius’s eyes. As per usual, he dismissed the unwanted thought immediately. 

“The answer is yes!” Rose Granger-Weasley bounced toward Scorpius with a paper in hand. He looked at her with wide eyes. 

“Huh?” Scorpius smiled at her and shook his head.

“Our scholastic decathlon team has its first competition next week and there is certainly a spot for you.”

“Where did those come from?” Scorpius stared at the paper in her hand. It was a picture and article about him winning a bunch of scholastic decathlon team competitions at his old school. He was absolutely mortified. 

“Didn't you put them in my locker?”

“Of course not!” Scorpius squeaked awkwardly. Rose narrowed her eyes at him.

“Oh. Well, we’d love to have you on our team. We meet almost everyday after school. Do you really have something else to do?” Rose sighed, her personality suddenly very clear as persistent, stubborn, and ambitious. Delphi quickly interrupted.

“What a perfect way to get caught up! Meeting with the smartest kids in school! What a generous offer, Rose!” 

It didn't take a genius to see that Delphi was clearly the one who put the paper in Rose’s locker. Delphi was now pressuring him to join this team so he wouldn't be able to do the musical. Scorpius was not great with pressure.

What a way to start the year.


	4. Talk To Me

“Alright guys, let’s huddle up. We got two weeks till the big game!” Coach Potter yelled across the gym. He immediately noticed the absence of his son and his best friend. “Where’s Albus and Yann?” The room was silent. “Don't make me ask again. Where’s Albus and Yann?” He screamed it this time.

“Detention.” The team was quiet as they said it, all taken back by the coach’s sudden outburst. Coach Potter bit his lip. Of course Albus was in detention. He took a deep breath and stormed out of the gym. 

He wasn't surprised to find their detention was given by Ms. McGonagall, someone who clearly had it out for his department. When he got to the auditorium, he had no problem interrupting her long speech about cell phones and the importance of theatre. 

“What the heck are those two doing in a tree?” Coach Potter said frantically, gesturing at Albus lying amidst paper leaves and Yann sitting inside a tree trunk. 

“Its called crime and punishment, Potter. Besides proximity to the arts is cleansing for the soul.” She made a quite feminine gesture toward the stage. The coach was unamused. 

“You two. In the gym. Now!” He huffed. Scorpius scrambled behind the moon, a bit shocked at the sudden shout. He was not a fan of shouting. 

Practice was not great that day. 

“The West High Knights have knocked us out of the playoffs three years running. And now we are one game away from taking that championship right back from them! You are the team! And this team does not function unless each and every one of you is focused on our goal. Is that clear?” Coach Potter made clear eye contact with his son at that line. Albus nodded back at him. Yann erupted in their team cheer. This time Albus joined in. 

Meanwhile, Scorpius was getting pressured more into the decathlon. Rose sighed once he declared that he really didn't want to join, but instead focus on his studies. She gave in finally. Scorpius decided this would be a good time to ask about the one person he had been thinking about all day.

“What do you know about Albus Potter?” Rose snorted at this.

“Albus? I wouldn't consider myself an expert on that particular sub-species, however, unless you speak cheerleader, as in,” She led Scorpius up to a large group of girls in skimpy cheerleader uniforms, “Oh, my gosh! Isn't Albus Potter just the hottie super-bomb?” Scorpius laughed, but he couldn't help thinking about how true that actually was. The girls squealed loudly before jumping around and talking about Albus like it was all they knew. Scorpius asked further about what she thought of him, but she gave him nothing, instead just inviting him to sit with her at lunch the next day. He accepted.

A separate, dreaded, conversation was going on at the Potter household when they got home. First, Albus admitted that detention was completely his fault. His dad told him to cross court in response. 

“You know McGonagall will take any opportunity to bust my chops. That includes yours too.” Albus sighed. Ignoring what his dad had said, he went on to ask his question.

“Hey, Dad? Did you ever think about trying something new, but were afraid of what your friends might think?” 

“What you mean like going left? You’re doing fine.” His dad dismissed what he had said after that, but Albus quickly came back to it.

“No.” Albus said losing his patience with his father, “I mean, what if you wanna try something really new and it's a total disaster and all your friends laugh at you?” Albus dribbled the ball twice. His dad and him weren't usually great at any conversations not about basketball. It was the one thing they bonded over. It was the last connection they had.

“Well then, maybe they're not really your friends. And that was my whole point about team today. You guys gotta look out for each other, and you're the leader.” Albus clenched his fists.

“Dad, I'm not talking abou-”

“There's gonna be college scouts at our game next week, Albus. Know what a scholarship is worth these days?” That's when he gave up on even trying to ask his dad. 

All he cared about was basketball anyways.


	5. Auditions (AKA, Oh No: The Chapter)

In homeroom, Albus kept turning and looking at Scorpius. When they met eyes Scorpius giggled softly and looked away. Albus wanted to die on the spot and he wasn't sure why. The Twinkle Town auditions were today, and Albus ended up blaming it on his inner debate of whether or not to go. After class Yann immediately stopped him, interrupting these thoughts entirely.

“The whole team's hitting the gym during free period. What do you want to have us run?” Yann said, patting his friend’s back enthusiastically. 

“You know what, I can't make it. I gotta catch up on some homework.” Albus forced out. He didn't plan on lying. 

“What? Hello, it's only the second day back. I'm not even behind on homework yet. And you know, I've been behind on homework since preschool.” Yann smiled at Albus, despite his confusion. Albus forced an obviously fake laugh. 

“That's hilarious. I'll catch you later.” Albus turned away from Yann and quickly made his way down the hall. He ducked behind a few walls, knowing Yann was following him. He knew his friend could 100% tell something was up. After he shook Yann off and managed to give an assortment of teachers and students the slip (including Coach Potter), he found himself in the auditorium behind a janitor's bucket. He watched as Ms. McGonagall gave her speech.

“First, you will sing a few bars and I will give you a sense of whether or not the theater is your calling. Better to hear it from me now than from your friends later. Our composer will accompany you and be available for rehearsals prior to callbacks. Shall we?” Ouch. That seemed kind harsh. 

Albus watched as singers came up on the stage and sang small bits of one of the songs in Twinkle Town. They were, well, they were not great. Albus leaned in the doorway, trying to see better. 

“Hey! So you decided to sign up for something?” Albus jumped at the sound of someone else’s voice. He turned and saw Scorpius blushing. Damn that blush.

“No. You?” Albus slightly hoped that Scorpius would say yes. He really did want to hear him sing again.

“No.” Scorpius shrugged. “Why are you hiding behind a mop? Your friends don't know you're here, right?” Albus nodded. A few more students went through the process and Ms. McGonagall didn't hold back when she told them what she thought.

“Um. Ms. McGonagall is a little harsh.” Albus said quietly.

“The Wildcat superstar is afraid?” Scorpius nudged him playfully. Albus smiled before it dissolved into a look of nervous energy.

“No! No, I'm not afraid. I'm just,” He paused, “scared.”

“Me too usually.” Scorpius beamed at him, bringing a sense of comfort to the whole scenario. The two looked back at the stage, hearing that Delphi and Cedric were about to perform. Delphi pushed Cedric to get on stage first. Albus snorted. A small girl at the piano asked what key they wanted the song in and Cedric responded with simple words.

“Our rehearsal pianist did an arrangement.” Albus watched Scorpius raise his eyebrows at that. Soon enough an upbeat version of the audition song was playing and the two divas were snapping along. 

“It’s hard to believe that I couldn’t see,” Cedric started singing.

“You were always there beside me.” Delphi joined in with a fake surprise, as if Cedric had snuck up and scared him. Scorpius had to hold in gasps. It was good. Really good, but less meaningful. The song had lost its quiet perfection when they performed, even if it was really well sang. The performance finished with some ecstatic applause from Ms. McGonagall and some less than happy ones from the pianist on the side. Albus looked over at Scorpius who was gawking at the stage. 

“Well. Are there any last minute sign-ups?” Scorpius turned to Albus and gestured to the stage. He had a look that read, ‘last chance’.

“Any last-minute sign-ups?” Ms. McGonagall called again.

“We should go.” Albus nudged Scorpius’s shoulder.

“No? Good. Done.” Ms. McGonagall flicked off the light on her desk and turned to pick up her stuff. Albus nudged Scorpius again, but was taken back when he stood straight and walked into the theater.

“I'd like to audition, Ms. McGonagall.”

“Timeliness means something in the world of theater, young man. The individual auditions are long, long over and there are simply no other pairs.” Albus felt his mouth hang open at this moment. Scorpius really wanted to audition?

“I'll sing with him.” Albus closed his eyes tightly. Was he actually doing this? For a boy? He mentally kicked himself. Scorpius was not worth this. He opened his eyes slowly. Scorpius turned to him and smiled, his look now reading, ‘thanks’. Or maybe he was worth it.

“Albus Potter? Where is your sports posse or whatever it's called?” Albus almost laughed. Almost.

“Team.” Ms. McGonagall nodded her approval. “But I'm here alone. Actually, I came to sing with him.” He could not believe he was doing this.

“Yes, well, we take these shows very seriously here at East High. I called for the pairs audition, and you didn't respond. Free period is now over.” Albus looked at Scorpius and continued trying.

“He has an amazing voice.” Albus noticed the smile Scorpius shot at the ground at that one. Ms. McGonagall dismissed them and left the room. Albus tried not to notice the disappointment on Scorpius’s face. He was quickly distracted, thank god, by the composer tripping over herself by the piano. Albus rushed to help her up.

“So, you're a composer?” The girl didn't say anything. “You wrote the song Cedric and Delphi just sang? And the entire show?” The girl managed a weak nod before getting fully back up. “Well, that's really cool. I can't wait to hear the rest of the show.”

“So, why are you so afraid of Cedric and Delphi? I mean, it is your show.” Scorpius joined in the conversation, seeing that Albus was the only one talking. 

“It is?” The girl questioned.

“Isn't the composer of a show kinda like the playmaker in basketball?” Albus wondered aloud. He had to relate this to something he knew better.

“Playmaker?”

“You know, the one who makes everyone else look good. I mean, without you there is no show. You're the playmaker here.” He smiled at her. She smiled back rather happily.

“I am?” She paused. “Do you wanna hear how the duet's supposed to sound?” 

And that's how they all ended up leaning against a piano, the girl taking a seat and smiling up at them. She started playing and Albus felt significantly less nerves than the first time he sang. The first few notes sounded out and soon enough Scorpius was joining in. His voice was so pure and soft, a bit high and just amazing in every way. Albus couldn't help but feel a little bit lucky to get to hear it twice. Scorpius met his eyes while they were singing and a moment passed between them. A moment that read, ‘wow that wasn't that bad’. Albus blinked.

“Wow.” He mumbled to Scorpius, still baffled by how wonderful his voice was. 

“Potter, Malfoy! You have a callback. Give them the duet from the second act. Work on it with them.” Albus glanced down at the paper being thrust into his hands. 

This was definitely not the plan.


	6. Stick To The Status Quo

“Callback!” Delphi shrieked at the paper on the wall. She fanned herself and suddenly found it very hard to breathe.

“Callbacks, next Thursday, 3:30pm. Us. Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter." Cedric read aloud.

“Is this some kind of joke? They didn't even audition!”

“Maybe we're being punked?” Delphi glared at him, completely angry.

“What's wrong?” Yann walked over, laughing. It was hilarious when things didn't go Delphi’s way. Then he looked at the list.

That was less funny.

Let’s just say, lunch was quite the mess that day. 

“How dare he sign up! I've already picked out the colors for my dressing room.” Delphi paced the tables.

“And he hasn't even asked our permission to join the drama club.” Cedric agreed.

“Someone's gotta tell him the rules.” Delphi slammed her hand on the table. 

“Exactly. And what are the rules?” Delphi shot him the meanest look she ever had. 

It was this day that people started confessing things. The basketball team’s shot guard started talking about how much he liked baking. One of the book nerds three tables down started breakdancing. A skater boy revealed his passion for the cello. 

Yann was ready to burst.

Delphi already had. This could not be happening.

“This is not what I wanted. This is not what I planned.” Delphi was losing it and Cedric attempted to comfort her, but she was not having any of it. Each clique was falling apart at the seams. 

“Why is everybody staring at you?” Scorpius looked at the lunchroom and glanced over at Rose.

“Not me. You.” She rolled her eyes at his obliviousness.

“Because of the callbacks? I can't have people staring at me, I really can’t.” Scorpius anxiously looked around, desperately seeking out some form of comfort. He was too busy looking around that he wasn't looking forward. He walked straight into Delphi, his tray colliding with her shirt. This was not good. She screamed.

“Oh my god! I’m really, really sorry. Wow um. Okay.” Scorpius was frantically trying to help and failing. This was by far the worst moment of his existence. Of course, Albus immediately ran to go help him, but Yann grabbed his shoulder.

“You do not want to get into that, man. Too much drama.” Albus sighed. He briefly saw McGonagall getting involved behind him before being dragged off by his team. 

“What's up?” Albus said, realizing how annoyed his team looked. Yann was quick to voice his opinion.

“What's up? Oh, let's see. You missed free-period workout yesterday to audition for some heinous musical. And now suddenly people are confessing.” He gestured to the cafeteria, people now mixing together and talking to other tables. “Suddenly people think that they can do other stuff. Stuff that is not their stuff. They've got you thinking about show tunes, when we've got a playoff game next week.” Yann sighed, disappointed. Albus sighed, exhausted.

Why couldn't singing and basketball be ‘his stuff’?


	7. Rooftop Jungle Conversation

Scorpius received a text from Albus that same day. It was a text filled with random directions followed by an invitation to meet Albus there. Scorpius had always been a curious guy and he enjoyed adventure so he followed the directions blindly. He didn't expect to end up on the roof of the school surrounded by plants. 

“Wow! It's like a jungle up here.” Scorpius eagerly walked around the plants, identifying the different ones in his head. 

“Yeah, just like that cafeteria.”

“Where I just humiliated myself into the next century.” Albus laughed slightly.”So this is your private hideout?”

“Yeah. Thanks to the science club. Which means that my buddies don't even know it exists.”

“You pretty much have the school wired, don't you Albus? Seems to me like everyone on campus wants to be your friend.” Scorpius smiled at him from across the roof.

“Unless we lose. My parents’ friends are always saying, ‘Your son's the basketball guy. You must be so proud.’ Sometimes I don't wanna be the basketball guy. I just wanna be a guy. You know?” Albus hated how easily Scorpius was able to make him open up. 

“I saw the way you treated the composer at the audition yesterday. Do your friends know that guy?” Scorpius pondered, thinking of the way Albus had rushed to help her up, encouraging her composing abilities. Albus shook his head.

“To them, I'm the playmaker dude.”

“Then they don't know enough about you. At my other school, I was the freaky book boy. It's cool coming here and being anyone I wanna be. When I was singing with you I just felt like,” Scorpius paused, “a boy.”

“You even look like one, too.” Scorpius laughed at Albus’s joke and he relished in the sound for a moment. 

“Do you remember in kindergarten how you'd meet a kid and know nothing about them, then ten seconds later you're playing like you're best friends because you didn't have to be anything but yourself?” Scorpius laughed a little at his own analogy then sat on a small bench next to Albus.

“Yeah.” Albus awkwardly said as he felt his knee nudge against Scorpius’s.

“Singing with you felt like that.” Scorpius dropped his gaze, blushing again.

“Well, um, I never thought about singing. That's for sure. Till you.” Albus quickly realized how romantic that statement sounded and he almost wanted to take it back completely. Almost. He watched Scorpius’s blush darken. He felt his own blush do the same.

“So, you really wanna do the callbacks?” Scorpius softly asked.

“Hey, just call me me freaky callback boy.” Albus smiled wide. Scorpius laughed delicately and took a deep breath.

“You're a cool guy, Albus. But not for the reasons your friends think. And thanks for showing me your top-secret hiding place. I really like it up here.” Scorpius looked so awkward and Albus watched his lanky figure weave through the hanging plants. He smiled. He watched Scorpius as he waved goodbye and bounced down the stairs. 

He was going through with the callbacks.


	8. A Closed Practice

Practice was exhausting. The composer was meeting with both Scorpius and Albus individually to work on their duet. Albus was learning how to properly sing the song and Scorpius was more just practicing the lyrics, his voice already pretty well rounded. It was at one of these rehearsals that Albus let time get completely away from him. 

“Has anyone seen Albus?” Coach Potter yelled to the team after school.

“No.” The team responded honestly. Nobody had seen him. 

“Alright. Again! Let’s go!” He yelled back, annoyed.

Practice ended soon after that. Nobody knew what to think. Albus never missed practice. Ever. 

“Hit the showers!” Coach yelled, gesturing the guys off. They jogged into the locker room, all talking about where Albus might have gone. 

Albus ran into the gym as quick as he could. He missed basketball practice. Because he was singing a love song! As soon as he entered the gym a ball was shoved into his arms by Yann and a very angry looking father wasn't meeting his eyes.

“I think I'm gonna stay a while. Work on some free throws.” Albus gulped. 

“Well, since you missed practice, I think your team deserves a little effort from you today.” Albus bit his lip. He wasn't wrong. His dad turned and left the room. Albus summoned all his patience so he wouldn't get angry with himself.

“Wow. So this is your real stage.” Albus jumped, before turning to see Scorpius walking in the doors. 

“Or just a smelly gym.” Albus sighed, still slightly upset. He passed the ball to Scorpius out of habit and just as he was about to take it back he saw Scorpius throw it. His form was completely off and he was pretty far away from the basket, but somehow it went in. 

“Whoa! Don't tell me you're good at hoops too.” Albus laughed. 

“You know, I once scored 41 points on a league championship game.” Scorpius said, slightly baffled that he even managed to make it. 

“No way.” Albus looked Scorpius up and down. His frame was definitely not built to play basketball. 

“Yeah, and in the same day, I invented the space shuttle and microwave popcorn.” Scorpius smiled. Albus laughed pretty hard at that one. He liked having Scorpius there to lighten his otherwise awful mood. 

“I've been rehearsing.” The blonde suddenly said after watching Albus practice a little bit more. 

“Me, too. I missed practice. So if I get kicked off the team it should be on your conscience.” Albus smiled. 

“Hey, I wasn't the one who told you to sing.” Scorpius said, a bit upset Albus thought that. 

“Scorp, chill.” Albus smiled wider at him, ensuring that he was 100% kidding. The other boy smiled at the use of the nickname. Albus got slightly distracted by said smile and may or may not have stared for a moment too long. Scorpius used the moment to playfully steal the ball out of Albus’s arms.

“Hey, that's traveling.” Albus laughed as Scorpius ran around the gym, holding the ball out of Albus’s reach. “No, that's really bad traveling!” Scorpius laughed and held the ball out of Albus’s reach, using his slight height difference to his advantage. Albus got a bit too cocky and used his own advantage. His strength. He grabbed Scorpius lightly around the middle and lifted him, spinning him around the gym. This elicited a squeaky yelp and a long giggle from the taller boy, now in the air. 

“I'm sorry, this is a closed practice.” Coach Potter boomed across the gym. Albus immediately put Scorpius down, the whole situation getting a bit too romantic then getting a bit too embarrassing. His dad just saw him twirl around another boy. This was not good.

“Dad, come on, practice is over.” 

“Not till the last player leaves the gym. Team rule.” His dad said back, glaring at him.

“Oh, I'm sorry, sir.” Scorpius squeaked out. His dad was kind of intimidating. 

“Um, Dad, this is Scorpius Malfoy.” Albus smiled as much as he could, trying to lighten the situation.

“Ah, your detention buddy.” Welp, so much for lightening the situation.

“I'll see you later, Albus. Nice meeting you, Coach, uh, Mr. Potter.” Scorpius was eager to get out of this gym. Scorpius nodded to Albus’s dad and walked off, trying to tone down the heavy redness of his cheeks at the previous events. Scorpius was one to overthink, but he couldn't help but feel that whole scenario had been a bit flirty. He smiled at the thought. Albus picked him up and spun him around the gym. That was flirting. Right? 

Albus was left alone with his dad, looking at Scorpius as he left then meeting his dad’s eyes. 

“Dad, detention was my fault, not his.” He felt every need to defend Scorpius. Scorpius was so nice. Nothing should be blamed on him.

“You haven't missed practice in three years. That boy shows up and-”

“That boy is named Scorpius. And he's very nice.”

“Well, helping you miss practice doesn't make him very nice. Not in my book. Or your team's.”

“Dad, he's not a problem. He's just a boy.” Albus raised his voice. God, his father really did now the right ways to make him angry. Before he knew it his dad was yelling too.

“But you're not just a guy, Albus.” He calmed himself slightly. “You're the team leader. Without you completely focused, we're not gonna win next week.The championship games, they don't come along all the time. They're something special.” 

“Yeah, well a lot of things are special, Dad.” Albus responded slowly, clenching his fists.

“Is that boy?”

“Is he what?”

“Is he special?” Albus gulped. He got lost in his thoughts for a moment. Yes. Yes, he was special. He was really, really special. He was soft spoken, and nerdy, and shy. He didn't let things bother him and yet seemed so sensitive. His eyes were a color Albus didn't know eyes could be and his hair was the color of the pale, almost white stars Albus had been painting in the auditorium earlier. Yes. Scorpius was special.

“You're a playmaker, not a singer, right?” His dad said, not waiting for an answer anymore.

“Did you ever think maybe I could be both?” Albus shouted. He threw the basketball he was holding across the room and cursed himself for getting so angry. His father was at a complete loss for words.

He watched Albus walk off slowly, no words passing between the two.


	9. We Need A Plan

“What spell has this elevated-IQ boy cast that suddenly makes you wanna be in a musical?” Yann walked down the aisles of book in the library, desperately trying to talk some sense into Albus. Little did he know, Albus was only thinking about a certain pair of silver eyes. 

“Look, I just did it. Who cares?” Yann gasped dramatically.

“Who cares? How about your most loyal best friend?” Yann raised his voice slightly, eliciting a hushed warning from the librarian.”It's him, not me.” He replied, gesturing to Albus. So much for loyal.”Look, you're a hoops dude, not a musical singer person. Have you ever seen Michael Crawford on a cereal box?”

“Who's Michael Crawford?”

“Exactly my point. He was the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Now my mom has seen that musical 27 times, and put Michael Crawford's picture in our refrigerator.” Albus made a face. “Yeah, not on it, in it. So my point is, if you play basketball, you're gonna end up on a cereal box. If you sing in musicals, you'll end up in my mom's refrigerator.” 

“Why would she put his picture in her refrigerator?” 

“One of her crazy diet ideas. Look, I don't attempt to understand the female mind, Albus. It's frightening territory. How can you expect the rest of us to be focused on a game if you're off somewhere in leotards singing Twinkle Town?” Albus suppressed a chuckle, sensing how serious Yann actually was. 

“No one said anything about leotards.”

“Not yet, my friend, but just you wait. Look, we need you Captain. Big time.”

“Mr. Fredericks.” The librarian hissed from the doorway.

“I tried to tell him. I really tried.” Yann glanced over at Albus quickly and exited the library, not expecting his so-called friend to follow him. 

He didn't.

Yann was going to have to take further action. Albus wasn't listening and he was going to have to force him into it a different way. So he approached the only person he knew would be close enough to get to Scorpius. Rose. His plan was going to completely tear Scorpius and Albus apart. At least long enough for them to get over this musical. They decided tomorrow would be the day to put the plan in action. Yann was surprised that Rose had even agreed, but apparently she was just as eager to get Scorpius devoted completely to their team.


	10. Rejection ft. Bad Friend Yann

Albus was called into the locker room by his team and immediately knew he didn't really want to go. The second he walked in, all hell broke loose. 

“Bill Netrine, class of '72. He was the MVP in the league championship game.” Yann said.

“Sam Nedler, class of '02. Also known as ‘Sammy Slamma Jamma.’ Captain, MVP of the league championship team.” Another player rang out.

“The ‘Thunder Clap’” The team all clapped together. “Hap Hadden, '95. Led the Wildcats to back-to-back city championships. A legend.” A third player yelled in back. They were all crowded around this table filled with trophies, photos, and a laptop.

“Yes, legends, one and all.” Yann responded.

“But do you think that any of these Wildcat legends became legends by getting involved in musical auditions just days before the league championships? No. These Wildcat legends became legends because they never took their eye off the prize.”

“Guys I-” Albus started.

“Now, who was the first sophomore ever to make starting varsity?” Yann yelled.

“Albus!” The entire team yelled back.

“So, who voted him our team captain this year?”

“Us!” Every wildcat yelled.

“And who is gonna get their sorry butts kicked in Friday's championship game if Albus is worried about an audition?” 

“We are.” They all mumbled.

“Guys, come on. I mean, there's 12 people on this team, not just me.” Albus got defensive.

“Just 12? Oh, no. I think you're forgetting about one very important 13th member of our squad.” Yann handed him a picture of his father.

“My dad.” This was ridiculous.

Scorpius was in a similar situation. The scholastic decathlon team was crowded around a laptop as well, going over successful scientists and engineers. 

“Albus Potter represents one side of evolution. And our side, the side of education and accomplishment is the future of civilization!” Rose went on. “This is the side where you belong.” She flicked on the laptop and a live video of Albus came up. He was talking to his team. Scorpius listened to his speech.

“Man, I'm for the team! I've always been for the team. He's just someone I met. All right? The singing thing is nothing. Probably just a way to keep my nerves down. I don't know. It means nothing to me. You're my guys and this is our team. Scorpius is not important. I'll forget about him, I'll forget the audition and we'll go out and get that championship. Everyone happy now?” Scorpius felt tears stinging his eyes. This was ridiculous. He shouldn't care this much. He should have known the whole time. Albus Potter was out of his league. Albus Potter would never want to sing in a musical with a nerd from the scholastic decathlon team. 

“Behold lunkhead basketball man.” Rose said. Scorpius turned and left the room, ignoring their offers for lunch. Ignoring their requests for him to join the scholastic decathlon team. He started crying. This was absolutely an over reaction. He gulped. He wasn't doing the audition now.

“Hey, how are you?” Albus asked, seeing Scorpius outside one of his classes. He didn't answer. “Listen, there's something I wanna talk to you about.” Scorpius turned to face him.

“I know what it's like to carry a load with your friends. I get it. You've got your boys, Albus. It's okay. So we're good.”

“Good about what? I was gonna talk to you about the final callbacks.”

“I don't wanna do the callbacks either. Who are we trying to kid? You've got your team and now I've got mine. I'll do the scholastic decathlon and you'll win the championships. It's where we belong.” Scorpius avoided his eyes. Albus couldn't help but miss seeing the bright silver. Scorpius shoved his copy of their audition duet into his arms.

“But I-”

“Me neither.” His voice cracked. Scorpius turned around and started walking off, down the hallway.

“Scorp?” Albus called down, hoping he would turn around.

He didn't.


	11. Forgiveness

Yann was not feeling as victorious as he should have. Albus wasn't playing well in practice at all. He couldn't memorize any new plays, he could barely organize the old ones. He was a mess and it was all Yann’s fault. Albus was lashing out in anger at every chance and was barely even talking during class. So, Yann did what he had to do. He bribed the science club to tell him where Albus went in his free time. 

He took the team to the roof.

“Hey. We just had another team meeting.” Yann said softly as he approached Albus, sitting on the bench by the gardens. 

“Oh, wonderful.” Albus sighed, half at the mention of a team meeting, half at the fact that his team had found his secret place.

“We had a team meeting about how we haven't been acting like a team. I mean us, not you. Look, about the singing thing-” Not this. Not now.

“Look, dude, I don't even wanna talk about it.” Albus snapped.

“We just want you to know that we're gonna be there. Okay, cheering for you.” Yann nodded. 

“What?” Albus’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, if singing is something you wanna do, we should be boosting you up, not tearing you down.” Another player quietly mentioned in the back. 

“Yeah. Win or lose, we're teammates. That's what we're about. Even if you turn out to be the worst singer in the world.” Yann smiled encouragingly. 

“Which we don't know because we haven't actually heard you sing.” A third player said, nudging Yann jokingly. Albus shut his eyes forcefully before completely bursting.

“And you're not gonna hear me sing, guys. Because Scorpius won't even talk to me,” Albus sighed, “and I don't know why.” 

“We do.” Albus bit his lip, fighting back anger.

“Explain.”

Scorpius was in a similar situation. The decathlon team had found him, nearly in tears, doing an equation on the whiteboard of a classroom. Rose was the first to try and make amends.

“Scorpius, we were jerks. No, we were worse than jerks because we were mean jerks. We thought Albus and the whole singing thing was killing our chances of having you on the scholastic decathlon team.” Scorpius clenched his teeth together, fighting back any emotions.

“I heard what he had to say. I'm on your team now. Done.” 

“No, not done. We knew that Yann could get Albus to say things to make you want to forget about the callbacks. We planned it, and we're embarrassed and sorry.” Rose felt awful confessing such stupid things. She was Rose. She wasn't supposed to mess things up.

“No one forced Albus to say anything. And you know what? It's okay. We should be preparing for the decathlon now, so it's time to move on.” Scorpius didn't want to keep talking about Albus. 

“No, it's not okay. The decathlon is whatever, but how you feel about us, and even more, Albus, that's what really matters.” Scorpius shuddered slightly. He didn't feel anything for Albus. “We tried.” Rose said, turning away. She shrugged. Scorpius was annoying and stubborn and she was giving up on him. 

When Albus found out what his supposed friends had done he hadn't even waited for them to fully explain. He bolted out of the school and rushed to Scorpius’s house. Nothing was going to stop him from getting Scorpius back. He knocked on the front door. A very angular looking man with light blonde hair answered the door.

“Hi, Mr. Malfoy, I'm Albus Potter.” Oh god, he was intimidating. 

“Oh, Albus!” He said. He crossed his arms. This was not a good sign. “Scorpius is kinda busy with homework and such, so now's not really a good time.” He said it gently, but Albus could sense the intentions behind his words.

“I made a mistake, Mr. Malfoy, and I would really like to let Scorpius know that. Could you tell him that I came by to see him?” Mr. Malfoy smiled.

“I will, Albus. Good night.”

“Good night. Thank you.” Mr. Malfoy shut the door. Welp, guess there was only one more option. Albus turned toward the back of the house and walked calmly to the tree beside his house. He dialed Scorpius’s number as he worked on stepping up on the first branch.

“Hello?” A muffled voice came out on the end of the line.

“What you heard, none of that is true. I was sick of my friends riding me about singing with you, so I said things I knew would shut them up. I didn't mean any of it.” And that was true.

“You sounded pretty convincing to me.” Scorpius mumbled.

“Listen, the guy you met on vacation is way more me than the guy who said those stupid things.” Albus sounded so desperate. He hated sounding desperate. He was willing to for Scorpius though. 

“Albus, the whole singing thing is making the school whack. You said so yourself. Everyone's treating you differently because of it.” Everyone was. He didn't care.

“Maybe because I don't wanna only be the basketball guy. They can't handle it. That's not my problem. It's theirs.” Albus needed Scorpius to forgive him. He needed it.

“What about your dad?”

“And it's not about my dad. This is about how I feel, and I'm not letting the team down. They let me down. So I'm gonna sing. What about you?” Please Scorp.

“I don't know, Albus.”

“Well, you need to say yes. Because I brought you something.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Turn around.” Scorpius turned toward his window and, sure enough, Albus was leaning into his balcony from a tree branch. Albus started singing the first song they had sang together. 

“This could be the start of something new  
It feels so right to be here with you  
And now looking in your eyes  
I feel in my heart  
The start of something,” he paused, “new.”

“I-” Scorpius started.

“It's a pairs audition.” Scorpius smiled. This boy was going to have him in pieces by the end of these callbacks. Scorpius walked out onto his balcony and took the music for their audition from his hands. 

“We can rehearse tomorrow.” Scorpius smiled, and even though it was hesitant, it was there. 

Albus would take it.


	12. A New Team

Albus and Scorpius were excelling in their separate fields after that. Albus had ever run plays so smoothly and Scorpius was setting record times on extremely difficult equations. They were even doing well in rehearsals. 

“Wow. They sound good.” Cedric said as they passed a door. Behind it was Albus and Scorpius singing their audition song loudly. 

“We have to do something. Our callback is on Thursday and the basketball game and the scholastic decathlon are on Friday. Too bad all these events weren't happening on the same day. At the same time.” Delphi raised her eyebrows, smiling evilly at Cedric.

“Well, that wouldn't work out because then Albus and Scorpius wouldn't be able to make the-” he realized her plan and laughed, “I'm proud to call you my friend.”

“I know.” She strutted down the hall, Cedric chasing behind.

The audition boards were updated the next day. 

“Callbacks the same time as the game?” Albus shot an, ‘oh no’ look at Scorpius.

“And the scholastic decathlon.” Scorpius deflated.

“Why would they do that?” Rose sighed.

“I smell a rat named McGonagall.” Yann glared at the board.

“I actually think it's two rats, neither of them named McGonagall.” Rose quickly added on. Albus was going to kill them. How dare they ruin his audition? Scorpius glanced at him with a look that simply said, ‘don't get angry, we’ll fix it’.

“Do you know what I'm gonna do to those two over-moosed show dogs?” Yann nearly shouted.

“Nothing. We're not gonna do anything to them. Except to sing, maybe. This is only gonna happen if we all work together. Now who's in?” Albus stuck his hand out. Scorpius immediately put his own on top. Albus tried not to blush. Yann and Rose added their hands in, followed by the rest of the basketball team and the rest of the scholastic decathlon members.


	13. Breaking Free (AKA, The Finale To The Fic Nobody Asked for)

The teams worked tirelessly, trying to figure out a way to get the two boys in two places at the same time. The basketball team’s resident baker had made a pie in thanks for the decathlon team helping them. It had a pi symbol on it. They laughed and thanked him kindly. The decathlon team made a fake equation on a whiteboard about the trajectory of throwing a basketball. The basketball team laughed and thanked them for the boring gift, but soon turned genuine when the board was flipped to reveal a drawing of a wildcat dunking a basketball. The basketball team even wore tee-shirts that spelled out, ‘Go Drama Club!’ to show support. 

Soon enough, Albus was leading the team through a few last minute drills. The championship game was about to go down. Coach Potter sat next to him on the locker room bench.

“How you feeling?” Albus decided to be honest.

“Nervous.”

“Yeah, me too. Wish I could suit up and play alongside you.” His father chuckled. “You know what I want from you today?”

“The championship.” And Albus wasn't sure he would be able to give him that.

“What I want is for you to have fun. I know all about the pressure. And probably too much of it has come from me. What I really want is to see my son having the time of his life playing the game we both love. You give me that, and I will sleep with a smile on my face no matter how the score comes out.” He awkwardly, but affectionately patted Albus’s shoulder. 

“Thanks, Coach.” Albus smiled before correcting himself. “Dad.”

At the same moment Cedric and Delphi were dancing their hearts out, singing the lyrics to ‘Bop to the Top’, a song about being winners. The composer was checking her watch over and over, praying their plan would work out.

The decathlon team was crushing West High in their championship too. Scorpius was solving the final equation, mind darting between numbers and letters, song lyrics and math. He solved the equation in a blur, dinging a bell and hoping that he was right. 

“You did it!” Rose shouted. Scorpius smiled to himself. There was no time to celebrate a victory, even if they wanted to. 

“Thanks.” Rose smiled and pulled out her laptop. Now it was her time to shine. She pulled up a list of codes and started typing.

“All right, Wildcats, time for an orderly exit from the gym.” Rose hit enter, the effects of the codes immediate. 

The gym was sent into a frenzy. The scoreboard was flashing, the lights flickering on and off, and the buzzer was sounding at random times. Fans and members of the teams were sent out of the gym and in the flood of mass confusion and people, Albus was able to make his way out. 

Scorpius had to make his way out of the decathlon next. He poured a small vial of blue liquid into a canister over the bunsen burner. A foul smell filled the air around them and people began rushing out of the room, shouting. Admittedly, there were less people rushing out here than in the gym, but enough that Scorpius was able to slip out unnoticed. 

The two met, out of breath and shouting, at the doors of the auditorium. Albus burst into the room and started yelling.

“Wait! Ms. McGonagall, wait! We're ready, we can sing!” Scorpius followed behind him. 

“I called your names. Twice.” She flicked her hand in their direction, merely shoving them off. 

“Ms. McGonagall, please! Please!” Scorpius begged, running closer to the stage.

“Rules are rules!” She looked up at them and just as she was about to continue talking, something amazing happened. Every member of the basketball team rushed in. Every member of the scholastic decathlon came in behind them. The room was filling up steadily.

“We'll be happy to perform for our fellow students.” Delphi cut in, basking in the audience she now had.

“I don't know what's going on here, but in any event, it's far too late and we have not got a pianist.” McGonagall waved her hands about dramatically.

“Well, that's show biz.” Cedric smiled swiftly at Delphi.

“We'll sing without a piano.” Albus was making this audition happen. Scorpius would be crushed, and so would he, if they didn't do it.

“Oh, no, you won't. Pianist here, Ms. McGonagall.” The composer nodded, a new found confidence coming out. Delphi stared her down.

“You really don't wanna do that.”

“Oh, yes, I really do. Ready on stage.” She quickly turned and sat at her piano. 

“Now that's show biz.” McGonagall clapped her hands together. The drama department had never gotten this much attention. Albus laughed and smiled eagerly at Scorpius. They were doing the callbacks. Their plan had worked. Albus went up on stage, Scorpius following suit. The piano chords began gently and Albus was about to start singing when he looked over and saw Scorpius’s face.

He looked terrified.

Albus gesture to the piano, telling her to stop playing. She ended on a sour note and Albus rushed over to Scorpius. Everything was going to be fine.

“I can't do it Albus, not with all those people staring at me.” Scorpius squeaked out, his voice delicate and soft. Albus gently touched Albus’s shoulder and leaned in closer.

“Hey, hey, look at me, look at me, right at me.” He touched Scorpius’s cheek, pretending not to notice how much he was blushing. “Right at me. It'll be like the first time we sang together. Remember? Like kindergarten.” Scorpius gulped and nodded. The song started again and Albus sang the first lines. 

“We're soaring, flying  
There's not a star in heaven  
That we can't reach,” Albus saw Scorpius’s lingering nerves and stepped closer. He laced their hands together in an attempt to comfort him. That’s all it was right? Comfort. He smiled at their hands. Maybe it wasn't just that?

“If we're trying  
So we're breaking free,” Scorpius joined in. Albs was lucky he got to hear his voice so often.

“You know the world can see us  
In a way that's different than who we are,” Albus started swaying a little.

“Creating space between us  
'Till we're separate hearts,” Scorpius let Albus’s hand go and backed away, reaching out to him still. Albus knew it was all just apart of the song, but he couldn't help missing the feeling of Scorpius’s hand in his own.

“But your faith it gives me strength  
Strength to believe,” They started singing together before Albus belted out the chorus. Scorpius joined him and soon the two were bouncing around the stage and smiling. Nothing was more freeing than singing together, they decided. A moon dropped down from the ceiling as a backdrop and Albus smiled with the knowledge that Scorpius had painted it in their first detention together. He decided then that it was actually duller than Scorpius’s eyes, not the same color. 

The room was clapping and hollering when the song ended. The two boys on stage were inches apart. Albus went on a whim and leant in, pressing his lips to Scorpius’s cheek. He regretted it immediately. The whole team just saw him. The whole school, practically! Albus looked at the room and caught sight of his dad leaning on a door in the corner. His dad saw! Albus looked at Scorpius frantically. He was looking at the floor, smiling, touching his cheek lightly with his fingertips. 

“Good luck at the championship.” He whispered. 

Nevermind. He didn't regret it at all.

There were a few seconds left in the game. Albus faked right and broke left, keeping his eyes on the basket and his mind on Scorpius. Maybe he could kiss him once this was all over? Albus blindly shot and smiled. He could feel the shot go in. He felt the buzzer go off. He felt the team sweep him up, chanting his name. They won. When they let him down Coach Potter started walking over, trophy in hand. Nobody was able to tell if they were about to talk as father and son, or coach and captain. 

He hugged him. 

“I'm proud of you, son.” Albus laughed.

“Thanks Dad.” 

“Now, where’s this Scorpius because if you plan on kissing him like that more often, I think him and I need to have a talk abou-” Albus retracted from the hug.

“Dad!” He whined.

“I'm kidding. Mostly kidding.” He smiled. Albus turns and goes to Scorpius, grabbing his hands. 

“Congratulations, Wildcat!” Scorpius beamed.

“What about your team?” Albus laughed, squeezing his hands.

“We won too!” Albus felt the pure bliss in the room. He wasn't really thinking. If you asked him what he was doing he would have told you he was leaning in to hear Scorpius better. This, in fact, was a lie. He would have kissed him if Yann didn't decide to pop up.

“Yo! Team voted you the game ball!” He shoved the sweaty basketball in Albus’s hands, shattering the moment completely. 

“Yeah, thank you. Thanks a lot.” Albus rolled his eyes. Yann laughed, fully aware of what he had done. He turned around and walked off, presumably to flirt with Rose. 

“So, where were we?” Scorpius glanced over at Albus again, still close enough to kiss. Albus hesitated, now nervous without the adrenaline he had before.

Scorpius kissed him. 

If you asked Albus what the biggest win that night was, he wouldn't answer with what you thought he might. He wouldn't say the scholastic decathlon. He wouldn't say the championship. He wouldn't even say the lead role in his school musical. The biggest win that night, was the look on Scorpius’s face after they kissed.

That was what he called a win.


End file.
